India’s Sachin, Japan’s Tsutsumi and Kazakhstan’s Akhmedov are the Asian gold medallists in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

The day of the finals was held in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in the Sibur Arena in St. Petersburg where India’s Sachin Siwach Singh, Japan’s Hayato Tsutsumi and Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov all won gold medals. After 89 Asian victories in the previous eight competition days in St. Petersburg our continent’s youth talents won three bouts today which meant three gold medals for Asia.
Altogether 90 Asian boxers from 16 countries were taking part in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in St. Petersburg and among them 12 achieved medals in the event, Afghanistan, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand and Uzbekistan have sent teams to the new edition of the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships from our continent.

Light Flyweight class (49kg):
India’s AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Sachin Siwach Singh arrived to St. Petersburg as one of the youngest competitor of the whole event and a secret favourite of the light flyweight (49kg). The young Indian talent was too strong for Romania’s AIBA Junior World Champion Cosmin Girleanu in the last 16 and he was able to beat also Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Cheng Yu in the quarter-finals. Sachin controlled the second and third rounds of his semi-final against Philippines’ Carlo Paalam and advanced to the gold medal bout in St. Petersburg. Sachin’s final opponent was Cuba’s Jorge Grinan who had narrow triumphs in the recent bouts. The Indian boxer, who will be turning to 17 only next month, exceeded the expectations once again in the final and after the tactical first round he changed his rhythm and won Asia’s first gold medal in St. Petersburg.

Flyweight class (52kg):
Japan’s defending ASBC Asian Youth Champion Hayato Tsutsumi had a great opening triumph in St. Petersburg while his second opponent was also a dangerous one, Germany’s EUBC European Confederation Youth Boxing Championships bronze medallist Hamsat Shadalov. Japan’s youth No.1 eliminated his tough German rival and did another perfect performance against Australia’s Commonwealth Youth Games winner Jack Bowen in the quarter-finals. Tsutsumi had an Asian opponent in the semi-final, Uzbekistan’s ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships silver medallist Otabek Kholmatov who moved up to the flyweight (52kg) just before the event. Tsutsumi surprised the Uzbek boxer with his effective punches and advanced to the final of the championships. The 17-year-old Japanese boxer was amazing in the final against Cuba’s Elio Crespo and his tempo was too much for the Caribbean boxer in the last round. Tsutsumi’s efforts delivered for him Japan’s historical gold medal in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships.

Bantamweight class (56kg):
Kazakhstan’s AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Samatali Toltayev is a big talent in the sport who celebrated his 17th birthday with a great triumph over Venezuela’s Jhoinner Alejandro Bonilla in the last 16 and continued his winning path against Turkey’s Ali Ihsan Alagas who eliminated his Cuban rival in the last round. Toltayev moved ahead successfully in his semi-final when he met with Australia’s Sam Goodman and advanced to the gold medal bout. His final opponent was US star AIBA Junior World Champion Marc Castro who controlled mainly their second round in the gold medal bout. Toltayev proved top performance but his US opponent is the biggest boxing talent in the world therefore Kazakhstan’s young hope could get silver medal in St. Petersburg. The final was Marc Castro’s most difficult bout in the whole championships which shows Samatali Toltayev’s great future potential.

Lightweight class (60kg):
Uzbekistan’s Bilolbek Mirzarakhimov won the gold medal in the last edition of the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships, ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships and also in the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships therefore his target in St. Petersburg is clear. Following his victory over Kazakhstan’s Sanatali Toltayev, Armenia’s Narek Hovhannisyan, Russia’s Beslan Khamzayev and Turkey’s Necat Ekinci the Uzbek favourite advanced to the final. Mirzarakhimov launched great punches in the first round but his US opponent approved the level of the final in the second round. The Uzbek boxer was even more aggressive in the gold medal bout than in the previous rounds but his unexpectedly his US rival’s hand was raised after the final bell.

Welterweight class (69kg):
Kazakhstan’s Klichko Brothers Youth Tournament winner Sadriddin Akhmedov eliminated Russia’s EUBC European Junior Champion Issa Evloev and Uzbekistan’s ASBC Asian Youth Champion Ulugbek Sobirov to the road to the medal bouts in the welterweight (69kg). The 18-year-old Kazakh future was too strong for Kyrgyzstan’s Aybek Akylbek Uulu in the quarter-final of the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in St. Petersburg and defeated another gold medal contender England’s Mohammed Harris Akbar in the semi-final. Akhmedov had a relatively easier opponent in the final, Ukraine’s Pavlo Gula who had easier opponents in the road to the finals. The Kazakh No.1 was not enough fresh in the final after his wonderful semi-final but his efforts were enough to beat his Ukrainian rival in St. Petersburg. Akhmedov launched better punches in the bout and his accuracy delivered for him a gold medal in St. Petersburg.

Middleweight class (75kg):
Kazakhstan’s Bek Nurmaganbet, who began boxing at the age of 10, had enough experiences to be a favourite in the middleweight (75kg). After two successful contests he had to meet with Ukraine’s Dmytro Rybalko who eliminated Russia’s Nikita Voronov in St. Petersburg in the last 16. The 18-year-old Kazakh boxer eliminated such a strong Ukrainian rival and did not give any chance to United States’ Nikita Ababiy in the quarter-finals. Nurmaganbet controlled his semi-final over Germany’s Vezir Agirman and advanced to the final of the weight class. The Kazakh talent controlled the first round against Scotland’s William Hutchison but his European opponent came back in the second. Nurmaganbet could not keep his top level in the last round in his sixth contest in St. Petersburg therefore the Scottish boxer was able to win their difficult bout by 3:2. The Scottish boxer had only five contests in the championships and he has remained more energy to win the final.

List of the winners in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships
49kg: Sachin Siwach Singh, India
52kg: Hayato Tsutsumi, Japan
56kg: Marc Castro, United States
60kg: Delante Johnson, United States
64kg: Tugrulhan Erdemir, Turkey
69kg: Sadriddin Akhmedov, Kazakhstan
75kg: William Hutchison, Scotland
81kg: Osvary David Morrell, Cuba
91kg: Dainier Christian Pero, Cuba
+91kg: Justis Huni, Australia